Andover police continue to probe apparent double homicide

ANDOVER – Police on Thursday were investigating an apparent double homicide in which a prominent developer and his wife were shot in their Andover home, and their SUV was found torched about 20 miles away.

The bodies of John Magee Jr., 69, and Geraldine Magee, 67, were found Wednesday morning by their daughter, police said. Police put out an alert for the couple’s black Lexus SUV and learned later Wednesday that it had been found the night before in Boston’s north end, said police Chief Brian Pattullo.

The chief called the killings “an isolated act” and said the public wasn’t in danger, citing circumstances in the case that he would not elaborate on. He said the home’s door was unlocked and there were no signs of a break in.

On Thursday, authorities said they had no updates on the ongoing investigation.

Magee ran Magee Construction Co., which was founded by his father in 1951 and eventually developed a specialty in luxury homes, according to a company website. A family friend told the Eagle-Tribune of Lawrence that the company’s projects included the spacious home where Magee lived with his wife of more than 40 years.

Friends also told the newspaper that the couple had two children, including a son who recently moved to Somerville.

Police said the Magees were found by their daughter, Holly Magee Senykoff, on the first floor of the house when she stopped by drop off her two children, whom her parents watched every Wednesday.

Police had never before been called to the house, Pattullo said.

Andover is an affluent community about 20 miles north of Boston. The last murder there was in November 1991.